Chuckling, I shook my head. What was wrong with him?
He twisted around, muttering a repeat of our conversation to himself and gesturing to no one.
He was weird. But at least he knew not to take his phone into the bath—and not to put it in a cooked rice dish if he dropped it.
I helped lock up the store, then went home. The walls were mostly bare. White. Neutral. Janice would hate it here.
I smiled and flopped into my desk chair. She’d probably be jealous that I had a whole house to myself, though. Well, me and my brother, but he wasn’t around. I sent him a message.
I sent him a thumbs-up emoji and sighed.
Yup. A whole house to myself. Nice and quiet.
I ordered some food, then queued up Craft Cove. Happy island music filtered through the room. My island teemed with color and life. Birds flitted through the fruit trees. Bugs buzzed over patches of wild grass. Random fish jumped out of the waterfall and babbling brooks. I lost myself in upkeep, then headed to my main house. Inside, orange walls welcomed sci-fi posters, movie spoofs my brother came up with to fit intohis universe. Dark, sturdy wood made it easier to spot the tech projects scattered throughout the living room.
This wasn’t at all like my real house. I messaged Sal.
I guessed he did know her better.
My food wasn’t scheduled to come for another fifteen minutes.
We toddled off to unknown shores for some beachcombing.
His avatar kept popping up with exclamation points near the water. Our avatars couldn’t chat in-game, so I used the GameUp messaging overlay.
It was a very nice seascape. Gradient skies reflected on smooth waters.
I snorted. He was probably hoping she’d be so grateful that she’d jump him for birthday sex.
I went to tug my cap down only to realize I’d taken it off earlier, so I scratched my scalp.
I rolled my eyes and fought against a smile. Such a weirdo. It was easy enough to collect stuff alongside him, but we had to pause any time we wanted to message each other.
